Sarkar v. World Savings FSB et al

Filing 42

Order by Hon. Samuel Conti denying 15 Motion to Remand.(sclc1, COURT STAFF) (Filed on 1/29/2014)

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IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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United States District Court

For the Northern District of California

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) Case No. C 13-4375
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ARNAB SARKAR,
) ORDER DENYING MOTION TO REMAND
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Plaintiff,
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v.
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WORLD SAVINGS FSB, F/K/A WELLS )
FARGO BANK, N.A.; THE BANK OF
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NEW YORK AS TRUSTEE FOR
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SECURITIZED TRUST WORLD SAVINGS )
BANK MORTGAGE PASS-THROUGH
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CERTIFICATES REMIC 28; and DOES )
1 through 100 inclusive,
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)
)
Defendants.
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)
)

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Defendant Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. ("Wells Fargo") timely

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removed this case from the Superior Court of the State of

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California for the County of Contra Costa on diversity grounds.

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ECF No. 1 ("Not. of Removal").

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("Plaintiff") now moves to remand.

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argues that complete diversity is lacking because both he and Wells

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Fargo are citizens of California.

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California is Wells Fargo's principal place of business.

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Fargo contends that it is a citizen of South Dakota, the location

Plaintiff Arnab Sarkar
ECF No. 15 ("Mot.").

Plaintiff

Plaintiff points out that
Wells

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of its main office, and no other state.
Wells Fargo's citizenship turns on 28 U.S.C. § 1348, which

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provides in relevant part: "All national banking associations

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shall, for the purposes of all other actions by or against them, be

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deemed citizens of the States in which they are respectively

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located."

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Supreme Court addressed the meaning of the word "located."

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1348 purposes, the court held that a national bank is a citizen of

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the state in which its main office is located, rather than a

United States District Court

For the Northern District of California

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In Wachovia Bank v. Schmidt, 546 U.S. 303 (2006), the

citizen of every state in which it maintains a branch.

For §

Id. at 307.

Since Schmidt was decided, a number of judges in this district

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have endorsed a dual-citizenship approach in the § 1348 context.

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See Martinez v. Wells Fargo Bank, 946 F. Supp. 2d 1010, 1024 (N.D.

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Cal. 2013) (Chen J.); Vargas v. Wells Fargo Bank N.A., 12-CV-02008-

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JST, 2013 WL 6235575, at *8 (N.D. Cal. Dec. 2, 2013) (Tigar J.).

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These decisions hold that Schmidt did not overrule American Surety

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Co. v. Bank of California, 133 F.2d 160 (9th Cir. 1943), a 1943

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decision in which the Ninth Circuit held that a national banking

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association's citizenship is fixed by the location of its principal

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place of business.

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Under this line of cases, a national banking association is located

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in either the state of its principal place of business or the state

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of its main office.

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See Martinez, 946 F. Supp. 2d at 1016-17.

The dual-citizenship approach appears to be the minority view.

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Though the Ninth Circuit has yet to weigh in on whether American

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Surety is still good law, most of the judges in this district have

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held that, for the purposes of assessing diversity jurisdiction, a

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national banking association is located in only one state, that of

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its main office.

See, e.g., Meyer v. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., C 13-

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03727 WHA, 2013 WL 6407516, at *2 (N.D. Cal. Dec. 6, 2013) (Alsup

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J.); Lindberg v. Wells Fargo Bank N.A., C 13-0808 PJH, 2013 WL

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3457078, at *1 (N.D. Cal. July 9, 2013) (Hamilton J.); Yong Chull

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Kim v. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., 5:12-CV-02066-EJD, 2012 WL 3155577,

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at *2-3 (N.D. Cal. Aug. 2, 2012) (Davila J.); Tse v. Wells Fargo

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Bank, N.A., C10-4441 TEH, 2011 WL 175520, at *2-3 (N.D. Cal. Jan.

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19, 2011) (Henderson J.); Atienza v. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., No.

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10–3457, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 1738, at *3 (N.D. Cal. Jan. 4, 2011)

United States District Court

For the Northern District of California

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(Seeborg J.); DeLeon v. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., 729 F. Supp. 2d

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1119, 1123-24 (N.D. Cal. 2010) (Fogel J.).

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the only Circuit that has squarely addressed the issue since

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Schmidt -- has also rejected the dual-citizenship approach.

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Fargo Bank, N.A. v. WMR e-PIN, LLC, 653 F.3d 702, 709 (8th Cir.

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2011).

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The Eighth Circuit --

Wells

The Court finds the reasoning of these cases persuasive and

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adopts the majority view that, for the purposes of § 348, a

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national bank is a citizen of only the state in which its main

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office is located.

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is a citizen of South Dakota and that there exists complete

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diversity among the parties in the instant action.

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motion to remand is DENIED.

Accordingly, the Court finds that Wells Fargo

Plaintiff's

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IT IS SO ORDERED.

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Dated: January 29, 2014

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

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